An increasing number of gay men are choosing to become a father – and a larger proportion of them are opting for surrogacy, according to a report on CNN.com.
Jeffrey Steinberg, director of the Fertility Institute, told the news source that in the past six months, the number of gay men asking for parenting advice about fathering a child through a surrogate has risen by 30 percent.
Couples may choose to both donate sperm, one partner may donate, or they may decide to have two biological children with two different mothers.
However, the path to parenthood is currently still smoother for a straight man and his pregnant wife – or even for a lesbian couple – if one half is the biological mother.
"All the realms involved with men are much more complex," Gail Taylor, founder of Growing Generations, commented.
High medical costs and a detailed contract with the surrogate mother are two potentially complicating factors. For example, various contingencies – such as who will be the legal mother and father in the case of death or separation – must be taken into account.
More than four percent of children in the U.S. are being brought up by gay or lesbian parents, according to 2007 research published by the Urban Institute.
